


meet me in the sands

by whoisberu



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Gen, Reylo - Freeform, this turned from angst to fluff real fast
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-11
Updated: 2018-07-11
Packaged: 2019-06-08 20:55:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15251862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whoisberu/pseuds/whoisberu
Summary: The Force bond between Rey and Kylo snaps into place as Rey stands outside her parents' graves on Jakku.I drafted this right after The Last Jedi and only recently decided to finish it. Just a one-shot with some post-TLJ speculation and headcanon.





	meet me in the sands

She had forgotten how hot Jakku was. The sun seared into her skin and she reached for her canteen instinctively. Jumping off her speeder she stepped forward into the makeshift cemetery. Her staff remained strapped to the speeder. The crystal to Anakin's lightsaber rested underneath her tunic, waiting to be reunited with its new saber.

She took a deep breath, and has she exhaled, she felt a small tugging within her mind.

"Go away," she said shortly.

Kylo Ren stepped forward to stand next to her, taking in the scene, the small headstones haphazardly arranged in the small plot of land.

"Did you tell the others," he asked. She knew the question that remained in his mind, _did you tell my mother?_

"No."

"Why are you here, Rey? You don't belong here."

She spun towards him, calling her staff to her hand quickly with the Force, "Why are you here,  _Kylo_ ," she spat his name out like an insult, thrusting her staff in his direction.

Kylo gripped the end of the staff and wrenched it out of her hands, "I can't control this anymore than you can." He held onto the staff, letting it rest at his side.

Rey sighed and turned away from him, "Just leave me alone, Kylo," she sat down in the sand, crossing her legs and leaning her head in her hands. Kylo stood sentry next to her for a few moments before sinking down next to her, staring into the cemetery. Her breathing evened out, and their silence was soothing to them both, the Force humming around them.

"They don't define you, Rey," he said softly.

"Neither do yours, Ben." There is was again:  _Ben_. His stomach lurched when she said it. How could she deign it possible to even refer to him with that name?

Kylo couldn't look at her, "They have always defined me. All my failures come back to them."

Rey remained silent for a moment, letting herself into Kylo's mind. He let her stay there for a minute, allowed his emotions and memories to flood her. Rey saw every disappointed, worried glance from his mother. She heard all the whispered conversations between Han and Leia as they discussed what to do about him. She saw the fear in Luke's eyes during every training session at the temple. She felt the dissonant pull of Snoke's thoughts on his young mind. Buried deep within the pain and the sadness though, were small glimmers of who Ben was...and possibly even who he could have been. Ben, holding his mother's hand tightly as she showed him the Resistance armada, C-3PO and R2 regaling him with the stories of his family in the time of the Empire, and Luke helping him fashion his first training saber. Even further beneath these bright spots was Han, his father. Rey watched as Han excitedly pulled his son onto his lap in the cockpit of the Falcon, repeating the names of all the buttons and levers for his boy. This memory was secret, she knew, kept close to his heart where no one could find it in his mind. He hadn't hid it well enough though, his mind and soul had been devoured until his greatest weaknesses and fears were on full display.

Slowly, Kylo pushed her out of his head.

"It wasn't all bad," she whispered.

"No," he relented, "But it wasn't enough."

They locked eyes for a moment, and Rey reached out her mind to his, knowing it was a mistake to do this, to be with him, to _understand him_. But she couldn't help it. His eyes widened once he realized what she was doing, and it was now her memories that flooded his mind. The memories weren't as varied as his, but he saw the shadows of her parents, the fights they had at night, and heard the breaking of glass all around her. He shivered as they grabbed Rey and shoved her into Unkar Platt's slimy arms, feeling the slickness of the alien's skin against hers. The rest of her memories were the same: complete and utter abandonment; the scratching of tally marks on the side of her AT-AT creating a sad soundtrack to her life.

The memories stopped and as Kylo came to he saw tears running down Rey's face. He reached out and brushed one from her cheek. She startled at his touch.

"I can still see it," she said shakily after a moment, his fingers still on her face, "your future, Ben. It's still there."

He pulled his hand back and looked away, "You don't know what you saw."

"You're wrong, Ben."

Kylo shook his head slowly, leaning away from her, "I can't."

Her brow furrowed and she pushed closer to him than he liked, "Come back, Ben," Rey took his hand, "Come back with me. Please say yes."

Kylo saw the longing in her eyes and realized that his expression mirrored hers, "Rey, I -"

_"Supreme Leader! We have a location, advancing now!"_ The voices came suddenly, echoing around them. Kylo's hand slipped from hers and he looked nervously behind him, his eyes shifting back to her face as he realized that the First Order had found _Rey's_ location.

"Rey," his voice was fainter and he began to fade out of view as his fingers stretched out to her. In a panic, he reached out through the Force, willing it to send this message to her, "Run!" His voice sounded in her ears before fading away.

"Ben! Ben!" she shouted. Rey slammed her eyes shut, trying to focus on his form, to call him back to her side. She was met with empty darkness. "No!" She yelled, her fists balling up at her sides. Her vision blurred in front of her when shots began firing on her position.

Looking behind her, she saw several TIE fighters advancing rapidly. She picked up her staff, thankful she had let Rose modify it to block blaster fire. Pulling her goggles down she jumped on to her speeder, revving the engine and taking off towards the sand dunes. The pounding of her heart thundered in her ears and it was hard to breathe properly. She made a sharp left turn to try and buy a few more seconds but the pilots were skilled and caught up with her easily.

She knew the kill shot was coming before it fired. The Force warned her. It also warned her that there was nothing she could do about it. She blinked back tears and pushed the speeder to its limit, desperately trying to prove the Force wrong. A strong gust of wind blew, pushing her speeder over just as the shot fired. It missed her, but hit the side of her speeder, flinging her off the vehicle and rolling down the steep sand dunes.

The screech of the TIEs followed her over the hill and she looked into the sun, resentful that this is where she was destined to die, destined to die alone.

Her heart betrayed her fleeting, last thoughts, "I'm sorry Ben," she sent out into the Force.

Two explosions erupted into the sky behind her and sand blasted against her skin. A third TIE fighter flew over the hill, skidding to a stop.

"Rey! Rey!" Rey looked up and saw Kylo's face, backlit by the bright sun.

"Rey! Take my hand!" she looked up confused, unsure if the Force had connected them again, or it was a trick of her mind. But no, he was _here_ , he had come for her. Gripping his hand, Kylo hauled her up to her feet. The Force pulled them together, Rey's arms going around his neck, his around her waist.

"You're really here," she whispered into his neck. She felt Kylo's head bob up and down in agreement.

"I had to," he whispered back, "I know that I -"

Rey leaned back in his arms, moving her hands to his face and pulling his lips to hers. The kiss was sweet and beautiful. They pushed closer to each other as fresh blaster shots began to rain down on them, several TIE fighters appearing on the horizon.

Pulling apart, they took defensive stances. Kylo unclipped his lightsaber from his belt and handed it to her, "Together?"

Igniting the lightsaber, Rey smiled up at him, "Together."


End file.
